Bruno Mars Impersonator Scams Texas Woman Out Of $100k

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Bruno Mars Impersonator Scams Texas Woman Out Of $100k

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Last month it was Nikki Sixx and Bret Michael impersonators catfishing a woman and conning her out of money. Now it’s a fake Bruno Mars. ABC30 Action News reports that a Houston man was arrested this week after posing as Bruno Mars to strike up an online romance with a 63-year-old north Texas woman and scam her out of $100,000.

The victim told investigators that the impostor reached out to her on Instagram in September 2018 and made her believe that he was interested in a relationship, sending texts and photos from “tour” to convince her that he was real. The account then began asking her for money; she sent a $10,000 check to a “friend of the band” for “tour expenses” and another check for $90,000 two days later.

The man behind the scheme, Chinwendu Azuonwu, was charged with third-degree felony money laundering last month and arrested this week. Basil Amadi, an alleged accomplice who held another bank account used in the scam, was also charged. Azuonwu’s bail was set at $30,000 in Harris County Probable Cause Court.

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